Courses Overview

Introduction to Mindfulness

4 Week Course with weekly classes. This course will introduce you to the mindfulness practises. The guidance you receive in these classes will help you establish a daily practice that lead to improved attention, decreased stress and anxiety and more contact with happiness and joy. Find Course

DROP-IN CLASSES Available

Deeper Enquiry into Mindfulness

In this course we continue the enquire into to the mindfulness state of non-judgementaly staying with what is in the present moment. We will go deeper in the practice and looking at leading a mindful life in ongoing contact with joy and also at how to use a radical forgiveness technique to free ourselves from any hurts and resentments from the past.Find Course

School CLasses

One of the primary ironies of modern education is that we ask students to “Pay attention” dozens of times a day, yet we never teach them how. The practice of mindfulness teaches students how to pay attention, and this enhances both academic and social emotional learning” (Saltzman, 2011).In this 4-8 week programme for students we look closely at emotions, thinking, impulse control, liking and disliking, inter-connectivity as well as doing regular mindfulness practices; breathing, listening, body scanning and other activities. Learn More

Learn To Teach Mindfulness

Mindfulness Training Programme for teachers and parents who want to learn how to establish an ongoing Mindfulness practice for themselves and their children or students and to introduce Mindfulness into the class room. Learn the breathing, listening, body scanning and other activities to internalise the Mindfulness practices. The written material and training you receive from this course will give you the essential tools needed to teach Mindfulness.Learn More

3 Day Certification course in Learning To Teach Mindfulness

A three day Mindfulness Trainers Certificate course based on the successful Mindfulness programme that Mindful NZ Schools has has been running in NZ for the past 3 years.The course is based on the latest research and techniques on teaching mindfulness designed by the original MBSR members who trained with Jon Kabat-Zinn. This training will give you a resource to improve students and children’s ability to deal with stress and anxiety as well as improve attention and focus and cultivate kindness and empathy. Activies and practices will be taught to help engage students in the mindfulness process. 8 week lesson plan and other resources will be provided

Workplace Training

Google, eBay, and Intel offer classes on it. So do Harvard Business School.
Mindfulness is not just a corporate trend, but a proven method for success.
The wellness culture is growing in corporations and there is certainly a place for mindfulness in there. Corporations that have the foresight to run wellness programs for their employees has got an huge advantage. Mental health and physical well-being in the workplace have become paramount as it has become obvious that stressed employees are not productive.Learn More

“Practicing Mindfulness has been shown to alter the structure and function of the brain, which is what allows us to learn, acquire new abilities, and improve memory.” DR. ROMIE MUSHTAQ

Mindfulness trains the mind to be observant and responsive to the many challenges we face every day.

Harvard, Oxford and Stanford Universities offer Mindfulness courses. Mindfulness is not just a trend but a proven method for success.

“Mindfulness makes me get more sleep and helps me to get fall asleep”

Year 5 student, Dilworth Junior, Auckland

“When I am trying to get to sleep I use the body scan. It really works!”

Student, James Cook High, Auckland

‘The body scan felt relaxing and calm which took all the anger away”.

Year 5 student, Dilworth Junior, Auckland

Why Mindfulness?

Evidence based results from around the world continue to show that the regular practise of Mindfulness has ongoing benefits for physical and mental health. Research over the past few decades has found that Mindfulness training helps to;

Relieve Anxiety & Stress

In our fast paced lives, where we rush from one demand to another, there is very little time or space to stop and pause. Mindfulness offer the tools needed to connect with our inner intelligence, where we can access natural calmness beneath the busy minds.

Let go of Anger & Frustration

Coming in contact with your direct experience in the mindful state allows us to become familiar with the patterns that direct our lives; our thoughts, emotions and reactions.

OVERCOME WORRYING & NEGATIVE THINKING

Pain is an inevitable part of being human but suffering is optional. In Mindfulness we learn how to manage our thoughts and emotions instead of letting emotions and thoughts manage us.

STOP INNER CHATTER

Aimless thinking and inner chatter is draining our energy and clouding over the present moment. One of the most common benefits from regular Mindfulness training is greater mental clarity and a new sense of inner peace.

Have Better Sleep

To be able stop incessant thinking and worrying is one of the great benefits of Mindfulness and it makes it easier to sleep in and have unbroken sleep throughout the night.

STOP LIVING IN THE PAST

Mindfulness practices increasingly bring you more into the present with the growing awareness that going over the past keeps you stuck in the past.

Frequently Asked Questions

Mindfulness means “paying attention in a particular way; on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgementally.” – Jon Kabat-Zinn. (Founder of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction)

Mindfulness is a way of noticing where your attention is in the present moment without judging it good or bad. It’s about not wandering off into an imagined future or going over the past but fully engaging right here right now.

The ability to focus on one thing at a time is a skill and requires practice. Just as athletes train on a daily basis to maintain fitness and stamina, Mindfulness, which is a mental training, requires regular daily practice to experience the many well documented benefits especially of de-stressing, relaxing the body and generally self-managing in a new and empowering way.

Through guided, simple easy-to-do practisies you are training the mind to be more present in the moment. resulting in it to be less anxious, more alert and alive.

It depends on your experience at the time. Mindfulness isn’t one particular state or experience, but rather a deepening in to the feeling of the experience you are having right at this moment – which could be pleasant or unpleasant. Mindfulness is not designed to change our experiences as much as change our relationship to our experience so it is not so stressful and problematical. One thing is for sure though, you can only experience what mindfulness is like by actually doing it.

Meditation and Mindfulness are very similar the only difference being that Meditation takes many more forms;chanting, mantras as well as breathing and visualisations however Mindfulness meditation is a specific set of exercises that focus exclusively on the five senses.

Many places that run Mindfulness courses do so on a donation basis and are connected to spiritual centers. Mindfulness in New Zealand is an independent group and the trainers pay to live just like everyone else. Everybody needs to be paid for their effort as well as the cost of hiring venues and paying advertising to let people know the courses exist.

NON RELIGIOUS

There is no religion, dogma or beliefs attached to Mindfulness. Mindfulness has it’s roots in many contemplative practices but doesn’t require or impose on anyones belief systems. It’s a mental activity that has proven to be of great benefit for maintaining physical, mental and emotional balance.

Evidence Based

The many benefits of Mindfulness have been well documented especially in the past 30 years since Jon Kabat-Zinn established the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction programme that has led to the wide-spread, evidence based research and the acceptance of these non-religious, practical exercises anyone can do.

MINDFULNESS FOR EVERYONE

Mindfulness practice doesn’t require any preparation or beforehand knowledge about meditation. Anyone can experience the effect from these simple exercises.